Indiana Jones 5 Confirmed By Disney, But Will It Be Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper?!

When Disney struck their enormous $4 billion deal with Lucasfilm they didn't just scoop up the rights to Star Wars - they deal also provided the company with everything else the Lucasfilm has created, like Willow and Labyrinth! While we wait for those sequels to emerge, all eyes are on the biggest property aside from Star Wars, which is, of course, Radioland Murders. Just kidding - we're talking Indiana Jones here!

When Will Disney Start Playing With the Indiana Jones Toys?

As if it was something that really needed to be confirmed, Kathleen Kennedy, the braintrust behind Lucasfilm as it stands now, reassured people in the big Star Wars issue of Vanity Fair, that Indiana Jones is still on their minds. Unfortunately, as of now, Kennedy isn't willing to spill any more information on what kinds of plans they're kicking around over there - only to say that they're still at the stage of coming up with a script.

Just as the new Star Wars movies mark the first time that George Lucas hasn't been involved in at least the "Story By:" credit capacity in that franchise, it's expected that the new Indiana Jones movie could follow suit. For the people who thought that Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull marked a nuking the fridge low point in that series, this could be looked at as good news instead of a troubling prospect for the future of Indiana Jones.

Chris Pratt or Bradley Cooper?

There have been more than a few rumors surrounding some of the plans Disney and Lucasfilm have been toying with over the past year or so. With Indy director Steven Spielberg producing Jurassic World, Deadline reported that the director was impressed with lead actor Chris Pratt and was eyeing him to star in a reboot of the Indiana Jones character. It's certainly not a stretch of the imagination to picture this as Pratt has been looking very Jones-ish in his Jurassic World role.

Does Chris Pratt have Steven Spielberg's vote?

But before that tantalizing headline, there was another rumor - this one from more mysterious inside sources, that put Bradley Cooper in the fedora and wielding the bullwhip. Again, a good choice and one that's not too difficult to picture. This report also came with the news that Young Indiana Jones writer, and frequent Stephen King adaptor, Frank Darabont had pitched an idea for an Indiana Jones reboot - which, from the sound of things more recently, seems to have stayed at just an idea.

It should be noted that both of these reports are treating whatever Indiana Jones 5 turns out to be as a reboot of the character and not some passing of the torch scenario that appeared to be threatened when Shia LaBeouf showed up in Crystal Skull. It makes sense since a passing of the torch would essentially mean saying goodbye to the name Indiana Jones and hello to something hopefully better than LaBeouf's regrettable name, Mutt Williams Jones.

Indiana Jones 5 & The Threat of the Reboot

So how would you feel about another actor stepping into the iconic shoes of Indiana Jones? Should the character be retired with Harrison Ford? Should the septuagenarian risk another broken bone to play the role again? It should be noted - as the legend of Indiana Jones goes - that the movie was originally developed by Lucas and Spielberg as a response to the globe trotting action and adventure of James Bond - a character who has found a long and healthy life in being passed down from actor to actor over the years.

Chris Pratt's Jurassic World role an Indy test?

Be that as it may, Indiana Jones doesn't lend itself to the kind of constant updating and modern setting that allows James Bond to continue to adapt. The character has been firmly rooted as taking place in the 1930s, 40s and 50s, and it wouldn't be as easy as it is with James Bond to simply change the actor as time progresses. That being said, I could easily picture both Chris Pratt and Bradley Cooper being able to take very little time in making the character their own and making it easy for a new generation of fans to fall in love with Indiana Jones just as kids growing up in the 1980's did.

What do you think? Who would you rather see as Indiana Jones, or do you have someone else entirely in mind? Cast your own Indiana Jones fan fiction in the comments section below!